There’s one week left in the 88th Legislative Session. It has been incredibly busy this past week with having to hear and vote on all the Senate bills as they "crossover" into the house.

Some of the highlights of the week:

Senate Bill 119 would prohibit school boards to enter into an exclusive contract with a media source such as a radio station or TV. These contracts can be a new and unique source of revenue for the school. Several of the Representatives felt this was a freedom of speech issue, however, I felt that is was more of a local control issue. I trust our school boards to make the right choice before entering into these contracts. I voted against the bill, but it did pass and is on its way to the Governor.

House Bill 1237 slightly prolonged the waiting period for a woman requesting an abortion to 72 hours, excluding the weekend and holidays. Support for this bill came primarily from the pro-life contingent of the House. I am strongly pro-life and spoke on the floor in support of this bill. It passed the House and Senate and is on its way to the Governor.

HB1214 is a bill that garnered bipartisan support in the house. It provides for prenatal care for women who are here illegally. I spoke in favor of this bill on the House floor for three reasons:

It is pro-life and as I stated above, that is extremely important to me.It is pro-child, and who isn't for taking care of our kids as best we can. Also, as soon as these kids are born, they are American citizens.I believe that offering prenatal care is fiscally responsible and will save the state money in the long run. We are already paying the cost of these deliveries and this bill allows the federal government to share in that cost. In addition, good prenatal care has been shown to decrease cesarean section rates and Intensive Care Nursery stays. Just one month in the ICN can cost up to $200,000.
SB 84 allows for a commission to be formed for boxing, kick boxing and mixed martial arts competitions. An amendment to outlaw MMA was defeated. I supported that amendment because of the significant violence that comes with MMA. Forming a commission will greatly increase the likelihood of professional fights in our state. The bill passed and will go to the Governor. In the past, he has not appointed a commission, even though this bill has passed before. The Governor has made clear his opposition to MMA fighting. It will be interesting to see if he signs this bill and goes ahead and forms the commission.

As your legislature enters its final week, the new variable of the equation is the Federal sequestration. This issue will cause significant uncertainty in federal funding to our state. There are estimates that this may cause a 20 million dollar a year reduction of federal dollars. We will be working hard to protect ourselves as a state from harmful cuts to essential services that we need. I appreciate your input and ideas and encourage you to continue to email them to me.